From Wedding Outfit to Beach Dress

Hello my summer sizzling lovelies !

Well, summer is truly upon us and I’m really getting into my morning swims in the cooling sea and spending time on the beach feeling the cooling sea air. 

So no surprise that this week’s post has a beach theme running through it. 

Right, let’s get on with the post.  

I decided to give the post its title because that seems to be what happened when I put this new dress through its paces. 

I first got wore it to a family wedding a few weeks ago

(follow the link HERE to see how I “styled”’it )

And then I took it to the beach. 

And yup.  Into the sea!

And the soggy sand. 

Now I’m not advocating you take your current best dress down for a paddle. But it made for good Coastal Granny photos eh?!

And here’s the spooky thing. My blogger-Insta “twin”

had bought the same dress and packed it for her recent visit to Guernsey. 

So I invited @my_over50_fashion_life  round for crab sandwiches, cream scones and tea.

Cream tea out in the garden, how lovely!

And of course she took her dress down to the beach too. 

Doesn’t Annemarie look lovely?

And we twinned out on the patio. 

I fastened my back differently to its intended style to hide my bra. 

It’s a happy dress.  Makes you want to dance and twirl!

The dress is a simple line that suits all body types - from Annemarie’s svelte petite figure to my more matronly shape, and every shape in between is my guess 

And then I got a bit naughty with the dress.

Naughty, in The Photographer’s sense of the word.  For me and a belt should not been seen within a stone’s throw of each other according to his rules.  I apparently look like a sack tied in the middle. 

But I sneaked this one in as he wasn’t taking the photos 🤣 .  

I belted it under the bust, as that was the line of the dress. And I don’t think it looks sackish at all.  IMHO. 

It’s possible that belting up in an empire line rather than at the waist, or where the waist used to be in my case, brings the eye away from the thickened middle area. 

What do you think of my totally illegal belting?

And it’s got to be tried out with the ubiquitous jean jacket.  But although this combo tends to be a go for a classic layered summer dress look, a jean jacket right now is a bit chocolate teapot: it’s too darned hot for that classic combo, as my savvy DIL pointed out on the way to a family christening on a sweltering day. 

 🎵 Let’s talk about arms, baby

Now many of us aren’t happy with our upper arms, especially as we age.  So covering them up is vital for our confidence.  But in the heat we are experiencing right now we need to find diaphanous shreds of layer cloth to cover our arm embarrassment.

Well, enter this type of sleeve.  The flutter sleeve.  

This dress has a loose cut on the bias sleeve which covers the arm down to elbow level, yet still allows a free flow of air where needed.

So ladies. I think I’ve put my new Monsoon dress through it’s paces.

TP says this dress doesn’t need any styling.  It can stand up on its own. He may just be right. 

But are there any ways you would style this dress? 

Please share in the comments box below

Gosh, so much chat about a dress.  I think I’m done!  

But I rarely have a new dress to show so I can be excused, can’t I?

A la perchoine, 

Mary xxx .